The focus of my dissertation work is to study the gold-catalyzed intramolecular and intermolecular cyclizations involving oxonium intermediates towards the application of synthetically interesting frameworks under ambient conditions and developing...

The ultimate goal of this work is to develop a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system for early autism diagnosis from infant structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The vital step to achieve this goal is to get accurate segmentation of the...

4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) and propene-2-al (acrolein) are highly reactive á,â-unsaturated aldehydes. 4-HNE and acrolein are generated in vivo as products of lipid peroxidation. These aldehydes are implicated in the onset of several diseases...

Hematite synthesized by low pressure oxygen plasma has been shown previously to exhibit promising characteristics as a photo-anode for a photoelectrochemical water splitting cell. It is cheap, stable and has a 2.1 eV bandgap and exhibits a...

Monophosphoryl Lipid A (MPLA), a derivative of LPS endotoxin, is a TLR4 agonist that displays as little as 0.1-1% as much toxicity as its parent molecule while retaining immunostimulatory properties. We discovered that MPLA activates a TRIF-biased...

In space, astronauts are exposed to a large doses of ionizing radiation which can cause various health problems. The drug delivery of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory substances is a promising countermeasure for the harmful cellular effects of...

The purpose of this research work was to develop a transferable mathematically simple model which gives the possibility to make fast and easy predictions regarding the NOx emission behavior of a broad–spectrum of coals within a certain combustion...

This dissertation reports on the fabrication of a bi-directional Knudsen gas pump using a multifunctional nanoporous thermoelectric material. The integration of the channels into the thermoelectric material has the advantages of reducing heat...

Liquid gallium (Ga) spontaneously alloys with thin films of metals such as Ag, Au, Pt Al, and Cu at near or even below room temperature resulting in rapid self-assembly of nanostructures. In this dissertation, studies of the formation of these...

Nanoscience is not about products becoming smaller and smaller, but about new material properties being exploited for new and enhanced product applications. Liquid crystalline materials are one branch of "nanomaterials" that has promise...

In blood coagulation, the serine protease thrombin is a multifaceted enzyme that interacts with multiple proteins. Thrombin utilizes two anion binding exosites (ABE-I and II) to supplement binding to fibrinogen and to the platelet receptor GpIbα,...

The vast knowledge of nucleic acids is evolving and it is now known that DNA can adopt highly complex, heterogeneous structures. Among the most intriguing are the G-quadruplex structures, which are thought to play a pivotal role in cancer...

QSOs, providing distant, luminous sources of radiation, provide a means to detect gas by absorption in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. Of particular interest to astronomers studying metal line systems in lines of sight to QSOs are the...

Rising environmental concerns due to our rising population ad energy demand along with our excessive dependence on fossil fuels has created an urgent need to find clean, renewable and carbon free source of energy. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water...

For more than a hundred million years, male plethodontid salamanders have
utilized non-volatile, proteinaceous courtship pheromones to regulate female mating
receptivity and promote mating success. These pheromones - which are delivered...

The oxidation of metallothiolates is complicated by "non-innocence" or potential
redox activity of sulfur to yield thiyl (RS•) radicals. In some instances, the one-electron
oxidation of metal thiolates yields a product with the unpaired...

This dissertation describes research focused on the synthesis, polymerization and
applications of cationic aminooxy lipids. An efficient and convenient method was
developed to stabilize liposomes using 'click chemistry'. The 'click...

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted enormous attention in the field of nanotechnology for applications such as, immunoassay, drug delivery, contrast enhancement and tumor therapy. The typical range of gold nanoparticles varies from 1– 150...